Date of birth: ca. 1770×5.Place of
birth: probably Virginia.Census records suggest that John
Smith was 26-45 in 1810 [1810 cen., Bath co., VA, 428], over 45
in 1820 [1820 cen., Logan co., OH, 78], 50-60 in 1830 [1830 cen.,
Logan co., OH, 49], and 60-70 in 1840 [1840 cen., Logan co., OH,
16] (see the detailed discussion below). If all correct, this
would place the birth of John Smith between 1770 and 1775, but
these census ages are subject to significant uncertainty. John's
children Elizabeth Hill, Margaret Allen, and Samuel Smith all
died between the 1880 and 1900 censuses, and each of them gave
Virginia as the place of their father's birthplace in the 1880
census [1880 cen., Logan co., OH]. John's daughter Rebecca was
still living in 1900, and gave her father's birthplace as Ireland
in the 1880 census [1880 cen., Vernon co., MO, ED214, p. 13], and
as Virginia in the 1900 census [1900 cen., Johnson co., MO,
ED104, p. 5]. Thus, Virginia seems like the probable birthplace.

Date of death: 1840×1.Place of
death: Logan county, Ohio.John Smith was still alive when
the 1840 census was taken [1840 cen., Logan co., OH, 16]. On 24
May 1841, Peter Kelly was granted letters of administration to
the estate of John Smith of Monroe township, Logan county, Ohio,
Harriet Smith the widow of the deceased having relinquished her
right to the administration [Logan co., OH Administrator's
Dockets, C: 287, FHL film #545,336]. See also the discussion
below on John Smith in the records.

(1) m. Bath county, Virginia,
m. bond 15 October 1799, Rebecca Carrick, living 17 October 1817.Samuel Carrick was surety, and James Erwins
consented to the marriage [Bath co. mar., 20].

(2) m. bef. 9 August 1828, Sarah
_____, living 1830.John Smith's second wife Sarah appears on 9
August 1828 as an original member of the First Presbyterian
Church of Bellefontaine [Hist. Presb. Ch. Bellefontaine,
259]. As noted below, John Smith was apparently married at the
time of the 1830 census.

Children by Rebecca
Carrick:On 5 June 1841, Peter Kelly and
Sarah his wife filed a petition against James Smith, John Hill
and Elizabeth his wife, Nathaniel Kelly and Margaret his wife,
Harvey Wilson and Jane his wife, Richard Minshall and Rebecca his
wife, David Woltz and Isabella his wife, Robert H. Smith, and
Samuel Smith, children and heirs at law, and Harriet Smith, widow
of John Smith [Logan co., OH Deed Book P: 202, FHL film #545,367
(which shows that Sarah Kelly was also one of the children of
John Smith); see also Deed Book R: 595, FHL film #545,368, which
names the same children].

Robert H. Smith, b. VA, 5
October 1804, d. 10 September 1876, bur. Brunk cem., Cotton Hill
tp., Sangamon co., IL;
m. Logan co., OH, 16 February 1826, Patience Burgess,
b. 15 August 1806, d. 4 February 1857, bur. Brunk cem.[Logan co., OH marriages, 1: 51; A: 31; Cemeteries
of Cotton Hill Township, Sangamon County Illinois (Sangamon
co. Gen. Soc., Springfield, IL, 1986), 15, which gives dates of
birth and death for both Robert and his wife Patience] On 17 June
1843, in Sangamon co., IL, Robert H. Smith and Patience his wife
signed a power of attorney to James McDonald with regard to the
rights and interest that Robert H. Smith held in lands in Monroe
tp., Logan co., OH, which his father John Smith had held [Logan
co., OH Deed Book M: 536, FHL film #545,365]. On 22 November
1845, Robert H. Smith and Patience his wife of Sangamon co., IL
signed a quitclaim to Peter Kelly for those lands [Logan co., OH
Deed Book O: 654, FHL film #545,366]. This proves that Robert H.
Smith of Sangamon co., IL was the same person as Robert H. Smith,
son of the present John Smith.

Elizabeth Smith, b. VA, 10
October 1806?, d. 17 August 1881, bur. Fairview cem., West
Liberty, Logan co., OH;
m. Logan co., OH, 15 February 1827, John Hill,
b. ca. 1802, d. 4 October 1864, bur. Fairview cem.[Logan co., OH marriages, 1: 65; A: 37]
Elizabeth Hill's dates and the death date of her husband (d. in
63rd year) are given in their gravestones, but Elizabeth is given
an incompatible age at death (74y, 8m, 7d, which calculates to a
birthdate of 10 December 1806) [Liberty & Monroe
Townships (Logan co. Gen. Soc., 1995), 30]. However, the
death records of Logan county, giving the same death date, give a
different age at death (75y, 10m, 7d., which calculates to 10
October 1805). 10 October 1806 seems like the most likely date.

Rebecca Smith, b. OH, February
1815; still alive 1900, Johnson co., MO;
m. in Logan co., OH, lic. 6 Mar. 1834, Richard Minshall,
b. ca. 1814, d. 1880×1900.[Logan co., OH marriages, 2: 35] Richard is
found in the 1840 census in Livingston co., MO as Richard Mencil,
enumerated two households away from Harvey Wilson [1840 cen.,
Livingston co., MO, 275]. Richard and Rebecca Minshall were found
in Linn co., MO in 1850 [1850 cen., Linn co., MO, 28r], with the
birthplaces of the children suggesting suggesting between ca.
1836 [presumed son John E. aged 14, b. OH] and 1840 [presumed
dau. Margret E. aged 10, b. MO] for the move from Ohio to
Missouri. They were in Grundy co., MO in 1860 [1860 cen., Grundy
co., MO, 467r, with Rebecca appearing erroneously as
"Reuben"], Johnson co., MO in 1870 [1870 cen., Johnson
co., MO, 418r], and Vernon co., MO in 1880 [1880 cen., Vernon
co., MO, ED214, p. 13]. Richard Minshall was a preacher, which
explains the frequent moves. Rebecca was living as a widow with
her son W. M. Minshall in 1900 [1900 cen., Johnson co., MO,
ED104, p. 5, birthdate given as Feb. 1815]. Rebecca's birthplace
is given as Ohio in all of these censuses. The 1880 census shows
her father born in Ireland and her mother in VA, the 1900 census
shows both parents born in VA.

Children by uncertain
mother (probably Rebecca):These children are probably also
by Rebecca Carrick, but that is uncertain, because Rebecca
(Carrick) Smith is not documented as being alive after 17 October
1817.

Isabella Smith, b. OH, 6 April
1820, d. 31 December 1876, bur. Old Auxvasse Presbyterian Church
cem., Callaway co., MO;
m. Logan co., OH, lic. 18 February 1836, David Woltz,
b. ca. 1813, d. 1860×70.[Logan co., OH marriages, 2: 77; A: 123]
David and Isabella (Smith) Woltz lived in Callaway co., MO. Her
gravestone there gives her date of death and age at death [Callaway
County, Mo. Old Auxvasse Presbyterian Church Cemetery, 16
(birthdate based on calculation of age of 56y, 8m, 25d at
death)]. They moved to Callaway co., MO, appearing there in the
censuses of 1840 [1840 cen., Callaway co., MO, 225 (David
Waltz)], 1850 [1850 cen., Callaway co., MO, 286], and 1860 [1860
cen., Callaway co., MO, 1042], with Isabella and her children
appearing without David in the 1870 census [1870 cen., Callaway
co., MO, 388]. Their son Samuel Woltz, who appears with them in
the 1850 and 1860 censuses, was living with Samuel and Margaret
(Smith) Brown in the 1870 census of Callaway county [1870 cen.,
Callaway co., MO, 389], providing clear proof that David and
Isabella Woltz of Callaway co., MO were the same people as the
couple married in Logan co., OH. Note that if the birthdate
calculated from her gravestone is correct, which agrees perfectly
with her ages given in censuses (30 in 1850, 40 in 1860, 50 in
1870), then she was rather young when she married.

The problem of identifying individuals with the
same name who appear in different records is especially
troublesome with common names like John Smith. The John Smith of
interest to us appears in a deed of Logan county, Ohio, which
shows us that on 5 June 1841, Peter Kelly and Sarah his wife
filed a petition in the Logan county Court of Common Pleas
against James Smith, John Hill and Elizabeth his wife, Nathaniel
Kelly and Margaret his wife, Harvey Wilson and Jane his wife,
Richard Minshall and Rebecca his wife, David Woltz and Isabella
his wife, Robert H. Smith, and Samuel Smith, children and heirs
at law of John Smith, and Harriet Smith, widow of John Smith
[Logan co., OH Deed Book P: 202, FHL film #545,367; see also the
similar entry in Deed Book R: 595, FHL film #545,368, which names
the same heirs]. This deed spells out the children of John Smith,
which, as the deed shows, also included Sarah Kelly. All of these
children can be identified with high confidence in other records,
as indicated above and on the page of James Smith. What we now wish to know is, to what degree of
confidence can this John Smith (who will be called
"our" John Smith below for convenience) be identified
in other records? He is clearly the same as the John Smith of
Monroe township, Logan county, Ohio, who died before 24 May 1841,
when Peter Kelly was granted letters of administration, Harriet
Smith the widow of the deceased having relinquished her right to
the administration [Logan co., OH Administrator's Dockets, C:
287, FHL film #545,336]. Logan county marriage records give the
marriage of John Smith and Harriet Camper on 19 October 1838,
showing that Harriet was not the mother of our John Smith's
children [Logan co., OH marriages, 2: 136; A: 159].

To give some indication of the potential for
confusion, there were eight John Smiths in the 1840 census of
Logan county, Ohio, three of whom had middle initials.
Fortunately, starting with the two deed book entries mentioned
above, we can unambiguously link our John Smith with a number of
earlier records, including early Logan and Champaign county deeds
and tax lists. The entry from Logan county Deed Book R: 595, in
describing the decree for the April 1842 term of the Logan county
Court of Common Pleas, specifies two tracts of land which had
been owned by our John Smith. One was a 100 acre tract from
survey #4493 of the Virginia Military District (which maps show
to be located in Monroe township), for which it was ordered that
the defendants were to deliver a deed to Peter Kelly, as the
court found that that land had been conveyed to Peter Kelly
before the intermarriage of John and Harriet Smith [for this
conveyance, which occurred 9 August 1836, see Logan co., OH Deed
Book F: 588, FHL film #545,361]. The court also decreed that
Harriet Smith be endowed with a one-third part in about 270
acres, consisting of the fractional section Township 5, Range 13,
Section 24 (T5, R13, S24, which maps also show to be located in
Monroe township) except for 100 acres out of the northwest corner
which had previously been conveyed from John Smith to Henry
Covington on 26 December 1834, and stating that the land could
not be easily divided, ordered the tract to be delivered to the
Sheriff of Logan county for public sale [Logan co., OH Deed Book
F: 188, FHL film #545,361]. The deed of Deed Book P: 202,
describes the sale of the second of these tracts by the Sheriff
to Peter Kelly (with the size of the tract given as only 248
52/100 acres, for reasons which are unclear).

The tax lists of Logan county are available on
microfilm at the Family History Library for the years 1818
through 1838 [1818-27 on FHL film #545,118, 1828-33 on #545,119,
and 1834-8 on #511,789], and allow us to reconstruct our John
Smith's ownership of these lands in some detail, and to identify
another tract which he owned. John Smith appears in the lists in
1818, 1819-20, 1822 (no list in 1823), and each year from 1824 to
1838, missing only 1821 (which has no list for lands in Congress
District). These lists give details on the land held by the John
Smith in question, making it clear that they concern our John
Smith. The 100 acres from Virginia Military District survey #4493
appear under John Smith's name on the tax list in each year from
1826 to 1838. However, it is not until 6 December 1834 that we
find the conveyance of this 100 acres from John Shelby and
Ellinor his wife of Logan county, Ohio to John Smith of the same
[Logan co., OH Deed Book F: 181, FHL film #545,361], so the deed
was not executed until several years after John Smith took
possession of the land. Similarly, the land apparently remained
in John Smith's possession after he had sold it to Peter Kelly in
1836, leading eventually to the suit filed by Peter Kelly and his
wife in 1841 after John Smith's death.

Similarly, John Smith's possession of land in
fractional section T5, R13, S24 can be traced in the tax lists.
John Smith possessed 372 acres in that section in the lists of
1819-20, 1822, 1824, and 1825, and 272 acres in that section in
each of the years from 1826 to 1838. Here, the tax lists again
show that Henry Covington took possession of 100 arces of this
land in 1825 or 1826, several years earlier than the 1834 deed
showing the change in ownership. The 1819-20, 1822 and 1824 lists
also tell us the important fact that the John Smith who owned the
372 acres in T5, R13, S24 also owned 158 acres in the south half
of T5, R13, S22, also in Monroe township. Thus, the deeds which
mention a John Smith in the south half of that section also
concern our John Smith. Most important among these are two
Champaign county deeds of 17 October 1817 (the year before Logan
county was created out of Champaign county), in which Henry
Robertson sold the north half of the southwest quarter of T5,
R13, S22 to John Smith for $160 [Champaign co., OH Deed Book D:
234, FHL film #295,241], and John Smith sold the south half of
the southeast quarter of T5, R13, S22 to Henry Robertson for the
same price [Champaign co., OH Deed Book D: 379, FHL film
#295,241], thus effectively exchanging two tracts of the same
size. The second of these deeds was signed by John Smith and
Rebekah Smith, giving us the name of an earlier wife of our John
Smith. On 2 April 1814, the United States of America had granted
to John Smith, asignee of Robert Smith, the southeast quarter of
T5, R13, S22 [recorded 5 June 1841, Logan co., OH Deed Book L:
615, FHL film #545,365]. After the exchange with Henry Robertson,
he held a 1/4 mile by 1 mile strip, the north half of the south
half of the section. In a deed executed 17 October 1838
(recording a sale that had been made much earlier if the tax
lists are any indication), John Smith of Logan county, Ohio sold
to Alexander Burnside of the same, 150 36/100 acres from T5, R13,
S22 [Logan co., OH Deed Book J: 450, FHL film #545,364]. (What
happened to the other 7+ acres is not clear. Perhaps the earlier
survey showing 158 acres was inaccurate.)

Since the list of our John Smith's children
with their approximate birthdates is known, it is easy to locate
him in the censuses of Logan county, Ohio. The only John Smith in
Logan county in 1820 was in Jefferson township (the township from
which Monroe township was split off in 1822), and it has John
Smith aged over 45, with one male each aged 18-26 and 10-16, one
female each aged 26-45, 16-26, 10-16, and four females under 10
[1820 cen., Logan co., OH, 78v]. Here, 11 year old Margaret seems
to have been enumerated as "under 10", but otherwise we
have a perfect match for the children of our John Smith who had
been born by that year. The 1830 census of Logan county, Ohio
shows three John Smiths, one in McArthur township aged 40-50
[1820 cen., Logan co., OH, 71], one in Union township aged 20-30
[ibid., 57], and one in Monroe township [ibid., 49], of whom only
the one in Monroe township matches well with our John Smith. The
John Smith in Monroe township was aged 50-60, with one male each
aged 10-15 and 5-10, and with females aged 40-50, 20-30, 15-20
(two in that range), and 5-10 [1830 census, Logan co., OH, 49].
This agrees well with the children of our John Smith who were
unmarried in that year (assuming that 10 year old Isabella
counted as 5-10), except that there is an extra boy aged 10-15.
However, this extra boy can be explained by a Logan county deed
of 3 December 1826, in which Thomas H. Osborne, a poor boy aged
about eleven years and nine months, was placed as a servant of
John Smith [Logan co., OH Deed Book B: 303, FHL film #545,359].
This boy would have turned 15 not long before the 1830 census.
Since our John Smith was alive on 19 October 1838, and
administration of his estate was not granted until 1841, there is
a good chance that he was still alive during the 1840 census. His
only unmarried child in that year would be his son Samuel, aged
18, and we would also expect to find his recently married wife
living with him. Sure enough, in the 1840 census of Monroe
township (where we would expect to find him) there was a John
Smith aged 60-70 with only one other male, aged 15-20, and only
one female, aged 20-30 (presumably John's wife, who was evidently
quite a bit younger than him) [1840 cen., Logan co., OH, 16].
Thus, our John Smith was apparently living at the time of the
1840 census.

The children of our John Smith have all been
located in the 1850 and some later censuses, and their
birthplaces and ages show that the older children were born in
Virginia and the younger children were born in Ohio. The switch
comes between Jane, born 19 February 1813, whose birthplace is
Virginia in all censuses in which she appears, and Rebecca, born
in February 1815, whose birthplace is Ohio in all censuses in
which she appears. Thus, our John Smith evidently moved from
Virginia to Ohio between those two dates, fitting well with the
fact that our earliest record of him in Ohio is in 1814. Among
the children of John Smith there is one who is said to be from a
specific county in Virginia. His daughter Jane, wife successively
of Harvey Wilson and Zela Conkling, was stated to be "of
Pocahontas county, Va." by a Conkling genealogy that was
written by her own stepson (therefore likely to be reliable)
[Conklings in America, 78]. Now, Pocahontas county, (now West)
Virginia did not yet exist when Jane was born in 1813, but was
formed by a legislative act in 1821 by taking parts of Bath,
Pendleton, and Randolph counties. As it turns out, there is a
John Smith Jr. in the 1810 census of Bath county, Virginia,
showing an adult male aged 26-45, and adult female aged 26-45,
two boys aged under 10, and three girls aged under 10 [1810 cen.,
Bath co., VA, 428]. This is a perfect match for the family of our
John Smith as it existed in 1810. In this census John Smith Jr.
was enumerated adjacent to a John Smith Sr., aged above 45, who
had a boy under 10 living with him as the only other member of
the household [ibid.]. There was one other John Smith in Bath
county (of whom see below) and four other John Smiths in
Pendleton county (none in Randolph county), but none of these
other John Smiths had households that fit closely with the two
boys and three girls that we would expect to find in the
household of our John Smith. Furthermore, soon after 15 October
1799 (the date of the marriage bond), a John Smith was married in
Bath county to Rebeckah Carrick [Bath co. mar., 20]. We have
already shown above that our John Smith was married to a Rebecca,
and this marriage occurred about a year before the birth of the
eldest child of our John Smith. All of this is unlikely to be a
coincidence.

In fact, there was another Smith in Logan
county, Ohio who has an even better documented connection to Bath
county, Virginia. We have already noted above that in 1814, our
John Smith was the asignee of a Robert Smith. The only other
Smith enumerated in Jefferson township in the 1820 census of
Logan county besides our John Smith was a Robert Smith (aged
26-45) [1820 cen., Logan co., OH, 79r], and in 1830, the only
other Smiths enumerated in Monroe township in the 1830 census
were Robert Smith Senr. (aged 50-60), James Smith (aged 20-30),
and Robert Smith Jun. (aged 20-30) [1830 cen., Logan co., OH,
49], the latter two of whom were sons of our John Smith. This
Robert Smith appears in the History of Logan County and Ohio,
which states that he was born in Greenbrier county, Virginia (the
county out of which Bath county was formed), that he married
Isabella Burnside, and that he came to Ohio in the fall of 1811,
settling in Monroe township, where he built a mill about 1813
[Hist. Logan co., OH, 493, 679]. The marriage of Robert Smith to
Isabella Burnsides is recorded at Bath county, Virginia on 14
January 1806 [Bath co. mar., 31-2]. For Robert Smith, the move
from Virginia to Ohio is also documented by a Bath county deed of
2 November 1814 in which Robert Smith of Champaign county, Ohio
conveyed two tracts of 80 acres and 28 acres in Bath county to
Abraham Hawk of Bath county [Bath co., VA Deed Book 4: 475, FHL
film #30,608]. Robert Smith appears in the 1810 census of Bath
county, on the next page over from John Smith Sr. and John Smith
Jr. [1810 cen., Bath co., VA, 429]. The fact that Robert Smith
came from Bath county gives further support to the evidence that
our John Smith also came from that county.

John Smiths in the tax lists of Bath
county, Virginia

As might be expected, numerous Smiths appear on
the tax lists of Bath county, Virginia [Bath co., VA tax lists,
FHL film #2,024,469-70; published for 1791-1801 in Bath co. tax
lists]. This includes some John Smiths (four of them in 1796),
who are sometimes distinguished by epithets such as
"Sr." or "Jr." and sometimes not. Since such
epithets can change from year to year for the same individuals,
it can be a challenge to sort them out. The John Smiths in the
Bath county tax lists from 1791 to 1796 can be summarized in the
following table, giving epithets or other identifying markers
along with the number of tithables in each year, with columns
attempting to identify individuals from year to year, perhaps not
always successfully. (For example, the John Smith who appears in
1791-3 might instead be the John Smith who was labelled as
"J.R." in 1795 and 1796.)

John Smiths in Bath county tax lists,
1791-6:

John Smith

John Smith Sr.

John Smith

John Smith

1791

John - 1

1792

John - 1

1793

John - 1

1794

John - 1

John - 2

John - 1

1795

John L.L. - 1

John Senr. - 2

John J.R. - 1

1796

John L.L. - 1

John L.L. Senr. - 2

John Head J.R. - 1

John B.P. - 1

The main thing to note for these early years is
that there was one John Smith, called John Smith Sr. in 1795 and
1796, who can also be identified with probability in the 1794 tax
list as having 2 tithables. In 1797, the number of John Smiths in
Bath county drops to two, and from there through 1830 (the last
year checked) there are no more than three John Smiths in the
county in any given year. In fact, there is no reason to believe
that the lists for these years concern more than three total John
Smiths. The following table outlines the appearances of John
Smiths in the years 1797-1830 with likely identifications, and an
asterisk indicating uncertain identifications in 1812 and 1814.
Also included are the appearances of Robert Smith. There was no
Robert Smith on the 1791-6 lists and no more than one Robert
Smith in any of the years checked.

John and Robert Smiths in Bath county
tax lists, 1797-1816:

John Smith

John Smith Sr.

John Smith Jr.

Robert Smith

1797

John Jur. - 1

John Senr. - 2

1798

John - 1

John Elder - 3

1799

John Junr. L.L. - 1

John Senr. L.L. - 3

1800

John Jur. - 1

John Sen. - 2

John son of Jno. - 1

1801

John Junr. - 1

John Senr. - 2

John son of Jno. - 1

1802

John - 1

John Sen. - 1

John - 1

Robert - 1

1803

John - 1

John Sen. - 1

John Jun. - 1

Robert - 1

1804

John - 1

John Senr. - 1

John Jr. - 1

Robert - 1

1805

John - 1

John - 1

John Junr. - 1

Robert - 1

1806

John - 1

John Senr. - 1

John - 1

Robert - 1

1807

John - 1

John Senr. - 1

John Jr. - 1

Robert - 1

1808

no list

no list

no list

no list

1809

John - 1

John Sr. - 1

John Jr. - 1

Robert - 1

1810

John - 1

John Sr. - 1

John Jr. - 1

Robert - 1

1811

John Stony Creek - 1

John - 2

John Jr. - 1

1812

John Stony Creek - 1

*John - 1

1813

John Stony Creek - 1

John Senr. L.L. - 1

John Jr. L.L. - 1

1814

John S.C. - 1

*John - 1

1815-21

John - 1

1822-30

no John Smith

The most notable thing on these lists is the
proof from the 1800 and 1801 lists that two of these John Smiths
were father and son. In both of these years, John Smith "son
of Jno." appears in the list adjacent to John Smith Sr. We
also note that in 1800, the number of tithables for John Smith
Sr. dropped from three to two, suggesting that John "son of
Jno." had been living with John Smith Sr. in the immediately
preceding years. Thus, the John Smith who is labelled as
"son of Jno." was a son of John Smith Sr. The change
from one John Smith to no John Smiths in Bath county coincides
with the creation of Pocahontas county in 1822. The Pocahontas
county lists show one John Smith in each year from 1822 to 1830
(the last year checked) [Pocahontas co., VA tax lists, FHL film
#1,905,686, with 2 tithables in 1824-9].

Aside from the two John Smiths who were father
and son, there was a third John Smith in the county. He also
appears in the 1810 census of Bath county, aged over 45, with one
female 26-45 (presumably his wife), 3 girls 10-16, 3 girls under
10, and one boy under 10 [1810 cen., Bath co., VA, 412]. He can
be identified with high confidence as John Smith of Stony Creek,
now in Pocahontas county, West Virginia, who married Sarah Moore
on 24 January 1794 [Bath co. mar., 8] and stayed in Virginia
[Hist. Pocahontas co., VA, 302-6, which gives an outline of his
family]. Not only does the data from the 1810 census fit very
well with someone who was married in 1794, but the Historical
Sketches of Pocahontas County, West Virginia shows him with
two sons and six daughters, requiring only the birth of a son
after 1810 to fit exactly with the account of the 1810 census.
John Smith of Stony Creek can also be identified in the 1820
census of Bath county (aged over 45, with a woman aged over 45, 2
girls aged 16-26, 1 boy aged 10-16, 2 girls aged 10-16, 1 boy
under 10, 1 girl under 10 [1820 cen., Bath co., VA, 64]), and in
the 1830 census of Pocahontas county (aged 60-70, with 1 woman
aged 50-60, 1 woman aged 30-40, 1 man aged 20-30, 1 woman aged
20-30, one boy aged 15-20, and one girl aged 15-20 [1830 cen.,
Pocahontas co., VA, 92]). He does not appear in the 1840 census.
He was also presumably the John Smith who appears in the
Pocahontas county tax lists starting in 1822, as noted above.

Although the label "Sr." appears to
have been consistently applied to the same person from year to
year, this does not seem to have been the case for the label
"Jr.," apparently changing between 1801 and 1803. John
Smith of Stony Creek is evidently the John Smith Jr. of 1797,
1799, 1800, and 1801. On the other hand, John Smith of Stony
Creek is obviously a different man from John Smith Jr. in the
lists of 1811 and 1813. In 1803, 1810, 1811, and 1813, John Smith
Sr. (or the John Smith who is Sr. by default) was enumerated next
to John Smith Jr. In 1807, Robert Smith is the only person
enumerated between John Smith Sr. and John Smith Jr. Thus, it
appears that the epithet "Jr." was gradually
transferred from John Smith of Stony Creek to the younger member
of the father-son pair of John Smiths. As noted above, in the
1810 census the John Smith Jr. whom we have identified as our
John Smith was enumerated adjacent to John Smith Sr. Thus, it
appears that our John Smith was the John Smith "son of
Jno." of the 1800 and 1801 tax lists, and therefore son of
John Smith Sr. In 1812, the number of John Smiths on the Bath
county tax lists decreases from three to two, with one labelled
as "Stony Creek." We are back up to three John Smiths
in 1813 (Sr., Jr., and Stony Creek), then back down to two in
1814 (one labelled "SC"). In the table above we have
identified the second John Smith in 1812 and 1814 as John Smith
Sr., but marked it with an asterisk to indicate the undertainty.
It is also possible that John Smith Sr. died between the 1813 and
1814 tax lists, and that the second John Smith in 1814 is our
John Smith. Finally, in 1815 and 1816, we are down to one John
Smith, presumably John of Stony Creek. Thus, it looks as though
the father-son pair of John Smiths disappear from Bath county by
1815. This agrees well with the history of our John Smith, whose
daughter Jane was born in Virginia in 1813, and whose daughter
Rebecca was born in Ohio in 1815. The drop in 1812 might indicate
a trip to Ohio to prepare the move there, or just that one John
Smith was missed in that year. John Smith Sr. might have died
around 1815, or he might have moved elsewhere when his son left
the county. Robert Smith begins appearing in Bath county tax
lists in 1802 (a year when the number of tithables of John Smith
Sr. drops from two to one), and appears there every year from
1804 to 1810, after which he disappears (unless he is the extra
tithable who appears with John Smith [Sr.] in 1811), coinciding
well with the Logan county history which states that he arrived
there in the fall of 1811 [Hist. Logan co., OH, 493].

We have left until now the problem of
relationship of Robert Smith to our John Smith. The History
of the First Presbyterian Church of Bellefontaine, Ohio
tells us that "[i]n 1811, Robert and John Smith, brothers,
of a prominent Presbyterian family of Greenbrier county,
Virginia, built a mill and settled on the Mack-a-Cheek, ..."
[Hist. Presb. Ch. Bellefontaine, 9]. John Smith, farmer, 8 miles
south (of Bellefontaine), brother of Judge Robert Smith, is
listed as contributing to the church in 1836-7 [ibid., 30 (source
given as the "First Treasurer's Book")]. In a short
account of the early Presbyterian church at Mack-a-Cheek, the
wife of Judge Robert Smith is given as Isabella (Burnside) Smith,
and it is stated that John, brother of Robert, died about 1836
[ibid., 130]. An alphabetical register of members states John
Smith was an original member on 9 August 1828, that he died
before 1838, and that he had a wife named Sarah who was also an
original member in 1828 [ibid., 259].

So, was Robert's brother John the same person
as our John Smith? Making this identification poses a problem if
we accept the data of the History exactly as it stands:
Our John Smith did not come to Ohio until between 1813 and 1815,
and since our John Smith married in 1838, he did not die before
1838, as the History states of Robert's brother John.
However, if there is one person who stands out in the records as
an obvious candidate for the brother of Robert Smith, it is our
John Smith. He and Robert Smith both appear in the Bath county,
Virginia census in 1810, in the Jefferson township census of
Logan county, Ohio in 1820, and in the Monroe township census of
that county in 1830, always on the same or adjacent pages
(although never on adjacent lines). Other candidates for the
brother of Robert could be produced for the sake of argument (for
example, in 1820, a John Smith in Salem township, Champaign co.,
OH, aged 18-26 [1820 cen., Champaign co., OH, 444]), but they
make generally less convincing candidates than our John Smith.

It is not clear that dates like "before
1838" or "about 1836" were firmly established by
whatever evidence the History used. It has the following
to say about the sources of its data: "The sources from
which the following data has been compiled are the registers of
the pastors since 1854, records of the elders since 1828, records
of the clerks of the congregation since 1825, county records of
marriages, early newspapers, gravestones, correspondence, etc.,
and much information has been furnished personally." [Hist.
Presb. Ch. Bellefontaine, 180] However, as is typical of
publications of this type, we have no clear indication of the
specific sources used for a given statement when the History
was compiled in 1900. Thus, even if we accept the History
as being largely accurate, we should also allow that it is not
going to be correct on every point. A more detailed survey of the
men named John Smith in the Champaign-Logan county area would be
desirable, but it seems likely on the available evidence that our
John Smith was the same person as John Smith, brother of Robert.
We should note that whatever lingering doubt reamins on this
point does not affect the parentage of our John Smith, who seems
firmly documented as a son of John Smith Sr. However, it does
affect the assignment of Robert Smith as another son of John
Smith Sr.

Wills

Nuncupative will of Sarah Kelly, dated
20 August 1866, proved 28 August 1866.

It is my desire and will that after my death
all my personal estate now in the hands of my son J. M. Kelly
shall be kept at interest for one year after my death and that
the interest accruing on the same shall be equally divided
between my three daughters Lizzie Sallie and Bell, and after the
expiration of one year after my death it is my desire and will
that two thousand dollars of my said personal estate in the hands
of my said son be kept on interest and the interest accruing on
the same be paid to my said daughter Lizzie so long as she may
remain unmarried. The other portion of my personal Estate I want
Equally divided between my children including Lizzie and the two
children of my son John Kelly deceased In case Lizzie shall marry
then I desire that the $2000 referred to be equally divided among
all my children including Lizzie and the two children of my son
John Kelly deceased. I desire also that all the Household
furniture and goods be given to my three daughters Lizzie, Sallie
and Bell. I mean that the two children of my son John Kelly
deceased shall receive only what amount would be due to one of my
own children. Witnesses John Enoch, James W. Brown. Proved 28
August 1866 by Jeremiah M. Kelly, one of the children of Sarah
Kelly, deceased. The death date of Sarah Kelly is given as 22
August 1866 [Logan co., OH, Will Book B: 48-9, FHL film #534,847]

Will of Elizabeth Hill, dated 9 August
1881, proved 23 September 1881.

Know all Men by these presents that I Elizabeth
Hill of the County of Logan and State of Ohio, of sound mind and
memory being under no restraint and in view of the uncertainty of
life do make and publish this my last Will and Testament hereby
revoking and annulling all former Wills by me made.
Item 1st. It is my desire that all of my Just debts and funeral
Expenses be paid out of my personal property.
Item 2nd. I give bequeath and devise to my Son Hugh A. Hill all
of my Real Estate wheresoever situated, to belong to his heirs
absolutely forever.
Item 3rd. I give and devise also to my said Son all of my
personal property, all Chattels, Money & Notes, including the
Note due and payable to me by my said Son Hugh A. Hill. In
Witness Whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal this 9th day
of August 1881. Witnesses R. N. Jordan, Mary E. James. Proved 23
September 1881. [Logan co., OH Will Book C: 304-5, FHL film
#534,848]

Will of Margaret Allen, dated 15 April
1886, proved 1 March 1890.

In the name of the Benevolent Father of All, I
Margaret Allen of the County Logan and State of Ohio being of
sound mind and memory do make and publish this my last Will and
Testament hereby revoking and annulling all former Wills by me
made.
Item 1st. It is my desire that all of my just debts and funeral
expenses be paid.
2d. I give and bequeath to Samuel Smith Three Hundred Dollars
being the amount of indebtedness of siad Smith to me by note and
Mortgage also any interest that may be due on said note and
hereby direct that said note be delivered to said Smith and the
Mortgage be cancelled by my Executor herein named.
3d. I give and bequeath to James Smith the amount of his
indebtedness to me being about One Hundred and Fifty Dollars by
note and book account.
4th. The balance of money due me by Bond Note or account I
bequeath to the two Daughters of Samuel Smith to wit Minnie Smith
and Katy Smith (so called) the same to be equally divided between
them.
5th. I give and bequeath all the balance of my chattels
consisting of house hold goods to James Smith, Minnie Smith and
Katy Smith the same to be equally divided between them.
6th. I hereby nominate and appoint James Smith the Executor of
this my last Will and Testament and direct that no appraisement
of said estate be made. In witness whereof I have hereunto set my
hand and seal this 15th day of April 1886. Witnesses R. N.
Jordan, Delia A. Wilkinson. Proved 1 March 1890. [Logan co., OH
Will Book D: 322-3, FHL film #534,848]

Will of Samuel Smith, dated 20 October
1885, proved 20 January 1896.

Know all men by these presents that I Samuel
Smith of the County of Logan and State of Ohio, being of sound
mind and disposing memory in view of the uncertainty of life, do
make and publish this my last will and Testament, hereby revoking
and annulling all former wills by me made. Item 1st. It is my
desire that first of all my just debts shall be paid.
Item 2d. After the payment of all just debts, I give bequeath and
devise to my beloved wife all of my estate, Real Personal and
mixed, to belong to her and to her heirs forever.
Item 3d. I hereby nominate and appoint as my sole executor my son
James L. Smith with full power to make deed or deeds to purchaser
if it should be necessary to sell any part of the Real Estate to
pay debts and I hereby desire that no appraisement of my estate
shall be made. In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and
seal this 20th day of October 1885. Witnesses J. S. Evans, R. N.
Jordan. Proved 20 January 1896. [Logan co., OH Will Book E:
260-1, FHL film #534,849]